Social democracy

Social democracy is a political movement that had its origins in the latter half of the nineteenth century, not long after the emergence of communist ideology in Europe. Whereas communism assumed that the inherent problems with capitalism and the class conflicts they generate would inevitably result in revolution, social democrats see another option. Social democrats believe it is possible for societies to gradually evolve away from a purely free-market, capitalist model and toward a system that is both progressive and democratic. The goal of social democrats is to establish a society that balances moderate, regulated capitalism with social programs that provide support for education and public welfare.

An ideology closely related to social democracy is that of democratic socialism, and it is not unusual for people to confuse the two positions, for in addition to their nomenclature they have much else in common. Democratic socialism emphasizes the need for democratic governmental institutions operating in tandem with an economic system that is fundamentally socialist—meaning the government is heavily involved in the basic economic functions of society.

Background

The theories underlying social democracy have been traced back to Ferdinand Lassalle, who founded the first large-scale workers’ party in Germany. At the time, there was a growing sense that the goals of the various economic classes—the upper, middle, and working classes—were not simply different, but altogether incompatible, and that it would not be possible for the classes to coexist in a way that each of them would find tolerable.

Lassalle, however, was in essence reacting to ideas previously put forward by Karl Marx, who in turn traced his views back to the ideals espoused during and in the aftermath of the French Revolution. There was a fundamental divide among the groups opposed to industrial capitalism in Europe. On one side were those who, like Marx, felt that only through violent revolution would the ruling class be overthrown, making the way for the development of a society that promoted fairness and equality for workers. Others believed that as long as a society had in place a true, functioning democracy, then violent revolution did not have to be inevitable; the society could instead move more slowly and peacefully toward a structure that would advance workers’ interests by striving to be more cooperative than competitive.

In some sense, the history of social democracy in Europe in the twentieth century was one of an increasing desire for stability, understandable after the upheavals of World War I and World War II, interacting with a decreasing appetite for reinventing the economic foundations of Western society. Exposure to the horrors of war seemed to have the effect of making people less willing to opt for revolution—less willing to scrap everything and start afresh—and more willing to work within the existing capitalist structure to try to humanize it.

Overview

Social democracy had a strong influence on European politics throughout the twentieth century—despite but also because of that century’s two world wars. One of the original assumptions of social democrats and communists was that workers of the world would collaborate across national boundaries in order to further the goals of the working class; but such collaboration became challenging, to say the least, when most countries in Europe were at war with one another. In each of the world wars, when the battle lines were drawn, hopes that workers of the world would unite and reject imperialist and nationalist calls to fight one another were dashed when most of them instead rallied around their respective flags. At such times, speaking against the war effort on behalf of the working classes could be an extremely dangerous act.

In the massive, continent-wide reconstruction effort that followed World War II, however, social democracy came to the fore and made great strides in creating social safety nets and ensuring a reasonable standard of living for citizens weary of the ravages of clashing ideologies. Among the many ways social democracy has affected the development of postwar society in Western Europe are the provision of socialized medicine through programs such as Britain’s National Health Service; Germany’s system of higher education composed primarily of public universities; and France’s comprehensive protections for groups such as older adults and the very young.

Nevertheless, social democracy continues to have its critics. Many of these complain that while the group had its origins in Marxist views, it has by now abandoned those positions and given up too much in an effort to make peace with capitalism. This view echoes the earlier divisions over whether or not society could be transformed through nonviolent means. Beginning in the late 1990s, the Third Way movement—with advocates like Prime Minister Tony Blair in the United Kingdom and President Bill Clinton in the United States—likewise attracted some social democrats with its moderate approach to blunting the worst excesses of capitalism. This movement, like all moderate movements, has been heavily criticized by those on both the left and the right. Social democracy gained more notoriety in 2016 when senator Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, ran for president. While he lost the Democratic nomination to Hillary Clinton, his campaign spotlighted his alternative views.

On the whole, however, any political ideology with even tenuous links to socialism tends to be unpopular in the United States, with its history of battling communism at home and abroad during the Cold War that spanned most of the second half of the twentieth century. Because of this history, and because socialism and communism are on the same side of the political spectrum, conservatives in the United States can readily garner political support by associating any social welfare policies with socialism. This strategy can sometimes appear at odds with the reality that many of the closest allies of the United States, throughout Europe and beyond, are nations that have long embraced a social democratic perspective. Some political theorists suggest that there may eventually be a political price to pay for the short-term gains realized by equating social democracy (and socialism in general) with failed states and the stifling of free enterprise. According to this line of argument, the millennial generation, which has experienced the collapse of the housing market in 2008 and the subsequently weak job market, may be primed to recognize the benefits of the social democratic approach to moderating capitalism.

Bibliography

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